.

Observatory on Local Autonomy

Local Government in France

Initié par des chercheurs de l’Université de Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche scientifique, principalement composé d’universitaires et de hauts-responsables d’administration d’État et de collectivité locale appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de l’Union européenne. Comme le montre la composition de ces équipes, les domaines universitaires couverts sont volontairement larges puisqu’ils touchent autant au droit, à la science politique, à la sociologie, qu’ à l’histoire, l’économie, la géographie, etc.

Local Self-GovernmentDefinition (1)

• Local Autonomy is defined by the 1985 European Charter of Local Self-Government (article 3, paragraph 1). It was ratified in France in 2006.

• ‘Local self‑government denotes the right and the ability of local authorities, within the limits of the law, to regulate and manage a substantial share of public affairs under their own responsibility and in the interests of the local population.’

Initié par des chercheurs de l’Université de Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche scientifique, principalement composé d’universitaires et de hauts-responsables d’administration d’État et de collectivité locale appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de l’Union européenne. Comme le montre la composition de ces équipes, les domaines universitaires couverts sont volontairement larges puisqu’ils touchent autant au droit, à la science politique, à la sociologie, qu’ à l’histoire, l’économie, la géographie, etc.

Local Self-GovernmentDefinition (2)

• In France, local self-government means ‘decentralisation’. Central government is supposed to:- create distinctive local authorities (a sine qua non reason for implementing local self-government)- allocate certain responsibilities to these local authorities

Initié par des chercheurs de l’Université de Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche scientifique, principalement composé d’universitaires et de hauts-responsables d’administration d’État et de collectivité locale appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de l’Union européenne. Comme le montre la composition de ces équipes, les domaines universitaires couverts sont volontairement larges puisqu’ils touchent autant au droit, à la science politique, à la sociologie, qu’ à l’histoire, l’économie, la géographie, etc.

Local Self-GovernmentDefinition (3)

• Decentralisation shall be implemented through the principle of free administration for local authorities (Article 72, paragraph 2 of the French Constitution, 1958)

• The communities shall be self-governed through elected councils (article 72 of the Constitution) and through financial autonomy (article 72 of the Constitution).

French Regions

Initié par des chercheurs de l’Université de Lille 2 (France), OLA est un réseau de recherche scientifique, principalement composé d’universitaires et de hauts-responsables d’administration d’État et de collectivité locale appartenant à chacun des 27 États-membres de l’Union européenne. Comme le montre la composition de ces équipes, les domaines universitaires couverts sont volontairement larges puisqu’ils touchent autant au droit, à la science politique, à la sociologie, qu’ à l’histoire, l’économie, la géographie, etc.

The Legal Framework• Local self-government has gained the value of a

constitutional principle (see: art. 72 to 75-1 and art. 76 to 77)

• Since 1996, a specific ‘code’ has gathered Acts of Parliament and statutes that are dedicated to local government law (also accessible in English on Legifrance website): ‘Code général des collectivités territoriales’ (CGCT ).

Legal Specificities

• Local authorities are allowed to make experimentations (al. 4 art. 72 C)

• Local government law has been strongly orientated towards constitutional law after the constitutional reform of 2003

• The Balladur Committee (March 2009): a significant development?

General presentation of local government system

(situation to-day)

- Basic datas- Special statuses for some local authorities- Inter-communal co-operation (joint

bodies)

Basic Datas

Basic Datas

• Local authorities are listed in the French Constitution (Article 72, paragraph 1)

• The Constitution determines the types and numbers of local authorities in the French Republic:

1. 36 686 ‘communes’ (municipalities)2. 100 ‘départements’ (provinces)3. 26 regions (including Corsica)4. Overseas authorities(current situation, 1st January 2009)

Traditional local authorities’ structure (1)

Each local authority has a deliberative and an executive body

deliberative body executive body

Commune municipal council mayor

‘département’ ‘general’ councilpresident

of the ‘general’ council

Region regional council president of the regional council

Traditional local authorities’ structure (2)

Deliberative bodies are directly elected for six years

Local government law is developing and gradually opposition (minority) political party groups are being granted a new status and new means

Executive bodies are elected by and within the deliberative bodies, therefore indirectly

Slowly but steadily a specific status of local ‘representatives’ is being created in order to overcome the accumulation of mandates

Local government responsibilities (1)

The region is in charge of:

Economic development

Vocational training

Spatial planning

Secondary school maintanance

Environment and culture

Local responsibilities (2)

Départements’ core activities are social policies and sustainable development.

Municipalities are mainly in charge of local services in order to meet the local communities’ needs (e.g. primary school, waste disposal, water system, public lightning,...). Together with the local police, they are also responsible for law and order.

Control over Local Authorities

Article 72, paragraphe 6 of the French Constitution : ‘In the territorial communities of the Republic, central government is represented by a préfet who represents each Government member and who will be responsible for national interests, administrative supervisions and compliance with the law’.

Local finances are controlled by the Regional Courts of Accounts under the supervision of the national Court of Accounts.

Special statuses for some

local authorities

Local authorities with a special status (1)

• 3 cities have had a specific status since 1982: Paris, Lyon and Marseille

• 4‘départements have a special status: the so called ‘D.O.M’ (Département d’outre-mer, overseas provinces), namely Guadeloupe, Martinique, Ile of La Réunion and French Guiana. After a positive referendum on 29 March 2009, will be the 5th DOM from 2011 on.

Local authorities with special status (2)

Some Regional Councils have a special status: • Corsica• Ile-de-France (Paris area)• ROMs (‘Régions d’outre-mer’, overseas regions): ROMs have

the same areas as DOMs except that ROMs are composed of one sole ‘département’

After rgional referendums (January 2010) Guadalupe and Martinique will unitary authorities with a new status which shall be created along with the reform for overseas authorities (expected in 2010-2011)

Local authorities with a special status (3)

COMs: Collectivités d’outre-mer (overseas local authorities)

- Near the East African coast: Mayotte- Near the American continent: Saint Pierre and Miquelon

(near Canada), Saint-Martin Island and Saint-Barthélémy Island (near the West Indies)

- Close to the North and South Pole: French Southern and Antarctic Lands

- In Oceania : French Polynesia, New Caledonia (title XIII of the French Constitution), Wallis-and-Futuna Islands

and the Clipperton Island

Inter-communal

co-operation

(joint bodies)

Inter-communal co-operation (1)

France has too many small communes. In order to overcome this problem, special institutions (joint bodies) were created and they are called ‘établissements publics de coopération intercommunale (EPCI)’. These bodies are public authorities that incorporate several communes.

EPCI share common means, especially financial resources, in order to carry out common projects. Their responsibilities are delegated from ‘their’ member-communes.

Inter-communal co-operation (2)Various types of inter-communal co-operation

(figures as from 1st January 2010):

• Since 1890: 15 903 ‘Syndicats intercommunaux à vocation unique (SIVU) ou à vocation multiple

(SIVOM)’ and ‘Syndicats mixtes’

• Since 1966 (reformed in 1999): 16 urban communities (incorporating over half a million inhabitants): Lille, Strasbourg, Lyon, etc…

• Since 1992: 2406 ‘communautés de communes’

• Since 1999: 174 ‘agglomérations de commune’ (with a minimum population of 50,000 inhabitants)